Portugal

The establishment of the Equality Body (ACIDI) and the introduction of additional legislation have strengthened legal action capability and victims support. Some avulse measures like awareness campaigns, mobile health assistance, the introduction of mediators and other measures on education had differential and limited impact on equality promotion. There is still much to be done in the case of particular groups like Roma or people with disabilities.

Law n.7/82 transposing the ICERD to national legislation and Law No. 18/2004 transposing Council Directive No. 2000/43/EC together with the Constitution and other legal diplomas cover all grounds of discrimination as in the International Conventions and EU law. Its implementation however lacks proper independent assessment and although some achievements were made, much remain to be done.

Yes, there are different mechanisms that receive and handle complaints in discrimination cases, but they do not investigate them.

Qualitative Info

The specialised body for the promotion of equal treatment in regard to racial and ethnic discrimination is the Alto Comissariado para a Imigração e Diálogo Intercultural, I.P. (ACIDI) [High Commission for Immigration and Intercultural Dialogue]. The competences referred to by Article 13(2) of the Racial Equality Directive are exercised together by two bodies, which are included in the structure of ACIDI [the High Commission]:
- Alto Comissário [High Commissioner]
- Comissão para a Igualdade e Contra a Discriminação Racial(CICDR) – [Commission for Equality and Against Racial Discrimination (CEARD)]

However, both bodies (the Commission for Equality and Against Racial Discrimination and the High Commissioner) have no powers of investigation. According to Article 12(2) of Law 18/2004, they are only authorised to receive complaints and must send files for investigation to the Inspectorate General responsible for the area in question. The Inspectorates General are bodies within Ministries that have powers to hear witnesses and to conduct all investigations necessary in cases involving the areas covered by the Ministry concerned. Both bodies are in formal and regular contact with these Inspectorates General (the Labour Inspectorate, the Inspectorate General for Territorial Administration, the Health Inspectorate, the Economic Activities Inspectorate and the Local Administration Inspectorate).

Mandate of the specialised bodies:

The competences of ACIDI [High Commission], as represented by the High Commissioner, are laid down in Decree-law 167/2007 of 03 May 2007. Under Article 3 (Purpose and powers of the High Commission) its competences are as follows:
• to fight any forms of discrimination on the grounds of race, skin colour, nationality, ethnic origin or religion, through positive awareness, education and training actions, and also via the applicable sanctions specified in law;
• to raise public awareness and to promote studies on immigration, ethnic minorities, intercultural dialogue and inter-religious dialogue;
• to promote dialogue between religions through increased knowledge of other cultures and religions and the promotion of an attitude of mutual respect and affection related to diversity within the national borders, and also in regard to Portugal’s relations with the rest of the world.

The regulation of CEARD is contained in Article 5(2) of Law 134/99 of 28 August 1999, which establishes the competences of this commission:
• to gather all information related to discriminatory acts and to apply the relevant sanctions,
• to recommend the adoption of legislative, statutory or administrative measures that it deems adequate to prevent discrimination on the grounds of race, skin colour, nationality or ethnic origin,
• to promote and conduct surveys and research on racial discrimination,
• to write and publish an annual report on the situation in Portugal concerning equality of treatment and racial discrimination.

There are some mechanisms in place to collect data on complaints of racial discrimination, but they do not allow to monitor and review policies and pratices to combat racial discrimination.

Qualitative Info

Data collection is dispersed between different bodies and it is not performed according to homogenized criteria.

There is the Comissão para a Igualdade e Contra a Discriminação Racial (CICDR) – [Commission for Equality and Against Racial Discrimination (CEARD)] [1] and the Unidade de Apoio à Vítima Imigrante e de Discriminação Racial ou Étnica (UAVIDRE) [Unit for Support of Immigrant Victims and Victims of Racial and Ethnic Discrimination] established by the Associação Portuguesa de Apoio à Vítima APAV) [Portuguese Association for Victim Support] [2] an NGO that signed a protocol to give assistance to immigrants facing discrimination and to the victims of racial or ethnic discrimination, with the Specialised Body, from whom it also gets financial support.

But there are also the Inspectorates General that are bodies within Ministries, to whom complaints may be directly presented, the Provedor de Justiça [Ombudsman] [3] and the Tribunals.

As a consequence the same complaint may be enlisted in the data sets of distinct entities and therefore could be counted twice. Cumulatively none of the referred data sets lists the total number of complaints thus preventing to monitor and review policies and practices to combat racial discrimination.

Yes, legislation provides for the possibility of adopting positive measures to prevent or compensate for disadvantages linked to racial or ethnic origin.

Qualitative Info

Although legislation does not contain any specific measures falling into the category of positive action, the establishment of the Alto Comissariado para a Imigração e Minorias Étnicas (ACIME) [High Commission for Immigration and Ethnic Minorities], namely Law 18/2004 and Decree-law 167/2007, of 3 May 2007 regulating the scope of its intervention, opened the door to that kind of measures.

Article 8(1) of Law 18/2004 states that it is up to the High Commissioner to promote equality of treatment among all persons, without any discrimination based on racial or ethnic origin. Article 3(2)(a)(b)(c) of Decree-law 167/2007, of 3 May 2007, states that it is within the competence of the High Commissioner to cooperate in creating and implementing active policies of social integration as well as combating the exclusion of immigrants and ethnic minorities, in particular by stimulating transversal cooperation between public administration and municipalities.

Qualitative Info

These measures are rare and have been implemented more frequently to address prejudice and other difficulties experienced by the Roma community while trying to participate in the wider society, but also to promote migrants and ethnic minorities integration.

Examples of these types of measures are:

Regulations and permits for itinerant salespeople, which prevails as the main activity of the Roma community;

Support of Roma NGOs and NGOs involved in work with the Roma community

Cultural mediators recruited from among the Roma community have been introduced, with the aim of establishing bridges between children, families and schools (Law 105/2001 of 31 August 2001, introducing social and cultural mediators).

It should be also mentioned that in the Portuguese National Action Plans for Inclusion (PNAI) the Roma communities were among the transversal target groups provided for in most of the social inclusion measures. In parallel, some specific instruments were created specifically directed towards the Roma Communities (Annex III of the PNAI), namely scholar certification and qualification of Roma young people (between 13 and 21 years of age) and advice centers within residential areas where Roma live in order to promote Roma social inclusion.

There are no special quotas for Roma, but in regard to social housing the situation of Roma living in municipalities is specifically taken into consideration.

Qualitative Info

Article 6(1) of Law 18/2004, transposing the Race Directive, states that the victim of discrimination has to present facts from which the existence of such discrimination may be inferred; it is up to the respondent to prove that the differences of treatment are not the result of any of the factors mentioned in Article 3, which refers to discrimination on grounds of race, color, nationality or ethnic origin and indicates, as examples, some typical discriminatory practices.

The victim must demonstrate the act of discrimination and present facts to substantiate it. The defendant must show in turn that the differential treatment had no basis in racial or ethnic origin.

This principle does not apply to criminal procedure, nor to actions where according to the law it is up to the court or other jurisdiction to carry out the investigation.

Qualitative Info

Article 7(2) of the Racial Equality Directive is covered by Article 5 of Law 18/2004, which stipulates that associations may engage in judicial or other procedures in support of a complainant. This gives to them the right to legal standing in civil and criminal cases concerning race discrimination, and in some administrative proceedings. It states that "those associations that, according to their by-laws, have as their objective protection against discrimination based on racial or ethnic origin have the right to intervene in support or on behalf of one or more complainants, and with their approval in the respective legal procedures".

However, in cases of contra-ordenações [minor offences], these entities only have the right to make an accusation and to file a complaint with the Comissão para a Igualdade e Contra a Discriminação Racial (CICDR) [Commission for Equality and Against Racial Discrimination] and the Alto-Comissariado para a Imigração e Diálogo Intercultural(ACIDI) [High Commission for Immigration and Intercultural Dialogue]. Individual complaints need to be identified only if this is necessary to substantiate the complaint.

They do not have the right to appeal if the complaint is dismissed, nor the right to respond to the appeal of a person found guilty against a decision imposing a fine, as the law on the appeal procedure in case of contra-ordenações [minor offences] only grants the right of appeal to the person found guilty or the Public Prosecutor.

Article 9(2) the Employment Equality Directive is covered by Article 477(d) of the Labour Code, but only trade unions have the right to intervene in the defense and protection of their members.

Key socio-economic / Institutional Areas

Qualitative Info

Trade unions and NGOs in cases concerning race discrimination, and in some administrative proceedings have the right to act on behalf of one or more complainants. Class actions, in the sense of collective actions, i.e. actions with several complainants are possible in civil, criminal and labour procedures under Article 5(2)(c) of the Code of Labour Procedure, which states that trade unions may file actions in representation of their members who authorise them to do so in cases related to the general violation of individual rights of identical nature. Article 5(3) states that the authorisation is presumed if the member does not manifest any opposition after being informed by the trade union of its intention to file the action.

Article 53(1) of the Código do Procedimento Administrativo [Code of Administrative Procedure] grants to NGOs some rights to legal standing that can be used in some administrative procedures.

Yes, there is provision within anti-discrimination legislation for financial compensation of rights.

Qualitative Info

Victims have the right to sue for damages in court.

Civil damages can be awarded for all types of discrimination under the general principles of Articles 483, 484 and 496 of the Civil Code. In labour law, it should be noted that Article 28 of the Labour Code expressly states that the occurrence of any discriminatory act gives the worker or job applicant concerned the right to be compensated for pecuniary or non-pecuniary damages in accordance with the general provisions of civil law (i.e. Articles 483, 496, 799 and 800(1) of the Civil Code).

There are no statutory limits for pecuniary or non-pecuniary (moral) damages.

However it must be noted that any precedents were found in which damages have been awarded only on the basis of a case of simple discrimination.

In the case of multiple discriminations, the damages could be higher, taking into account the aggravated conduct of the perpetrator.

Key socio-economic / Institutional Areas

Yes, there are problems that have been reported by the European Network of Legal Experts in the Non-discrimination Field in its 2009 - Country Report on Portugal and by the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance in its 3rd report on Portugal dated from 2006.

Qualitative Info

European Commission against Racism and Intolerance

Recommends strengthening training on issues of racism and racial discrimination for actors in the justice system.

Recommends improving the procedure for receiving complaints of racial discrimination under the Law 18/2004.

Recommends raising public awareness of the need to combat racism and intolerance and the benefits of a multicultural society.

Asks the Portuguese authorities to continue their efforts aimed at taking measures in favour of the legalisation and integration of immigrants.

Recommends additional measures to put an end to misconduct on the part of law enforcement officials towards minority groups.

Asks the Portuguese authorities to adopt a national strategy to combat the social exclusion of Gypsies, by improving their situation in such fields as housing, education and access to public services.

European Network of Legal Experts in the Non-discrimination Field

From the legal point of view, the situation in Portugal with regard to equality bodies is too complex. The result is that there are several practical limitations in fulfilling responsibilities related to the implementation of the Race Directive.

For example, the procedure for hearing and investigating cases is too complex. A complaint is filed either with the Commission for Equality or with the High Commissioner. After a preliminary examination the complaint is sent to the Inspectorate General deemed to be competent. Sometimes conflicts of competence arise between twoInspectorates General and have to be resolved by the Minister for the Presidency. The Inspectorates take too long to conduct investigations. The file returns to the Commission for Equality for the opinion of its Permanent Commission, and only then is a binding decision issued by the High Commissioner, imposing a fine if that is considered appropriate.

Adding to the above mentioned, awareness of ethnic minorities and immigrants about their legal rights and the complaints and assistance mechanisms at their disposal is extremely poor.

Foreign workers experience higher rates of unemployment than the Portuguese citizens. As to the Roma population, evidences exist that they experience much higher rates of unemployment. Differential pay rates between nationals and foreigners exist but tend to decrease with longer work relations. Trade unions had an important role in shaping immigration policies, and developed a significant effort to help immigrant workers in the regularization of their situation.

Key socio-economic / Institutional Areas

Yes, there are legal obstacles to access certain positions in the public sector for migrants.

Qualitative Info

According to the number 1 and 2 of article 15 of the Portuguese Constitution, foreigners although enjoying the same rights and be subject to the same duties as Portuguese citizens, are inhibited from the performance of public functions that are not predominantly technical.

Qualitative Info

The law does not provide a permanent mechanism for legalizing the situation of illegal immigrants. However in different occasions Portugal has implemented extraordinary legalisation processes (the latest one took place in 2007).

Yes, there are examples of good practices and positive initiatives against discrimination and racism at the work place.

Qualitative Info

The II Plano para a Integração dos Imigrantes (PII) [Second Plan for Immigrant Integration] approved for the period 2010-2013 includes two positive initiaives. Firstly, measure 54, which concerns a legislative modification scheduled for 2012 and aims at the reinforcement of the intervention capacity of the Comissão para a Igualdade e contra a Discriminação Racial (CICDR) [Commission for Equality and Against Racial Discrimination]: to approve the proposal for alteration of the legal framework regarding infractions related to discriminatory practices based on nationality or ethnic origin, so as to confer greater efficiency to its respective procedures, namely by establishing mediation as a standard procedural stage, fixing deadlines for the end of the investigation, and simplifying procedures. Another measure, 57, concerns the disaggregation of statistical data related to racial discrimination, by gender, of the infractions by general discrimination in employment, collected by the Autoridade para as Condições do Trabalho (ACT) [Working Conditions Agency].

Groups affected/interested

Migrants

Ethnic minorities

Type (R/D)

Anti-migrant/xenophobia

Inter-ethnic

Key socio-economic / Institutional Areas

There are some evidences that spatial segregation of minorities exist, although it has been diminishing. The case of Roma is particularly evident but other minorities, like nationals of the former African colonies experience it in some degree. Important segments of these populations lived in barracks and have been re-housed in the last decade. Roma, Africans and Brasilians, experience significant levels of discrimination when accessing the housing market.

Qualitative Info

Despite the fact that no quantitative data exists and that a situation testing study was never performed on this issue, Roma associations and NGO’s like SOS Racism consider that this community face particular difficulties in purchasing and renting property of their choice.

When purchasing or renting property of their choice Roma face widespread discrimination from neighbors, real estate agents and sometimes from local authorities. An evidence of it is the usual practice of real estate agents to have porcelain representations of toads in their offices, since it is a popular believe that Roma will avoid them. On the other hand the common way for a Roma to elude this is to have a frontman that will represent him for the acquisition.

Brasilians and sub-Saharan immigrants also face some prejudice that results again from the popular belief that associates them with a more festive and convivial way of living and being keener for meeting and partying they are considered necessarily noisy, disrespectful and a neighbour to avoid.

Groups affected/interested

Migrants

Roma & Travelers

Ethnic minorities

National minorities

Type (R/D)

Anti-migrant/xenophobia

Anti-roma/ romaphobia

Xenophobia

Key socio-economic / Institutional Areas

Qualitative Info

Despite the fact that no quantitative data exists and that a situation testing study was never performed on this issue, Roma associations and NGO’s like SOS Racism consider that this community face particular difficulties in purchasing and renting property of their choice.

When purchasing or renting property of their choice Roma face widespread discrimination from neighbours, real estate agents and sometimes from local authorities. An evidence of it is the usual practice of real estate agents to have porcelain representations of toads in their offices, since it is a popular believe that Roma will avoid them. On the other hand the common way for a Roma to elude this is to have a frontman that will represent him for the acquisition.

Key socio-economic / Institutional Areas

There are problems with differential educational attainement and drop-out by Roma and some migrant groups. There is evidence of school segregation of migrants in some urban areas and there have been reported cases of school segregation concerning Roma pupils. School materials and methodologies can reflect the diversity of school population, although the national curricula is common to all schools. There have been initiatives to foster interculturality and teachers training.

There are some identified obstacles and evidence of problems and differential enrollment rates for Roma.

Qualitative Info

The Third Report on Portugal published by the Eurpean Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) states that Roma communities still suffer from social exclusion and encounter difficulties in their dealings with the majority population, local authorities and law enforcement officials. Access to education is one of the identified problems.

The report addresses the question of access to education for Roma children. According to the ECRI report, the school drop-out rate among Roma children is very high, as shown by the figures provided by the Portuguese authorities. There are very few Roma children who pursue their studies beyond the first cycle. The report identifies that Roma girls are particularly likely to leave school at a very early age for cultural reasons.

The report adds that according to non-government sources there were fewer than ten Roma students in higher education.

In this report ECRI urges the Portuguese authorities to reinforce their efforts, in conjunction with Roma communities, to encourage regular school attendance by Roma children (p. 30).

Key socio-economic / Institutional Areas

There are some identified obstacles and evidence of problems and differential enrollment rates for migrants.

Qualitative Info

The Third Report on Portugal published by the Eurpean Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) addresses the question of access to education for children from minority groups in general, in particular immigrants.

The ECRI report highlights the legislation providing for the introduction in schools of compulsory classes in Portuguese as a second language for children whose mother tongue is not Portuguese. and the adoption of Decree-Law no. 67/2004 which guarantees the right of children whose foreign parents have no legal status in Portugal to enrol in schools under the same conditions as children of non-nationals who do have legal status.

The ECRI report states that, in the absence of detailed statistics, according to several studies children from certain immigrant groups, in particular Africans, do less well at school than Portuguese pupils and are less likely to continue their education (p. 17).

Groups affected/interested

Type (R/D)

Key socio-economic / Institutional Areas

There is some evidence of poorer educational performance by Roma and Africans.

Qualitative Info

The Third Report on Portugal published by the Eurpean Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) states that, in the absence of detailed statistics, according to several studies children from certain immigrant groups, in particular Africans, do less well at school than Portuguese pupils and are less likely to continue their education (p. 17).

According to the ECRI report, there are very few Roma children who pursue their studies beyond the first cycle. The report identifies that Roma girls are particularly likely to leave school at a very early age for cultural reasons. The report adds that according to non-government sources there were fewer than ten Roma students in higher education. (p. 30).

Key socio-economic / Institutional Areas

There are some problems with educational attainement and school drop-out, especially by Roma and some migrant groups.

Qualitative Info

According to the Third Report on Portugal published by the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) the school drop-out rate among Roma children is high, as shown by the figures provided by the Portuguese authorities. There are very few Roma children who pursue their studies beyond the first cycle. The report identifies that Roma girls are particularly likely to leave school at a very early age for cultural reasons. The report adds that according to non-government sources there were fewer than ten Roma students in higher education (p. 30).

ECRI report states that, in the absence of detailed statistics, according to several studies children from certain immigrant groups, in particular Africans, do less well at school than Portuguese pupils and are less likely to continue their education (p. 17).

Key socio-economic / Institutional Areas

Yes, there are positive initiatives to improve/support poor educational provision for migrant and minority groups.

Qualitative Info

The Third Report on Portugal published by the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) highlights the legislation providing for the introduction in schools of compulsory classes in Portuguese as a second language for children whose mother tongue is not Portuguese. and the adoption of Decree-Law no. 67/2004 which guarantees the right of children whose foreign parents have no legal status in Portugal to enrol in schools under the same conditions as children of non-nationals who do have legal status.

The ECRI report also highlights some initiatives taken to encourage school attendance by Roma children, as the creation of posts of socio-cultural mediators who act as a liaison point between families and schools and initiatives taken by the Alto Comissariado para a Imigração e Diálogo Intercultural (ACIDI) [High Commission for Immigration and Intercultural Dialogue] designed to raise the awareness of non-Roma teachers and pupils to Roma culture. According to the report, the Portuguese authorities stated that the school attendance rate of Roma children has risen since the creation of these mediator posts. The report also refers to the case of a minority of Roma children whose parents have a nomadic lifestyle and benefit from the school network which enables them to attend school throughout the year in Portugal.

According to the Migrant Integration Policy Index (MIPEX III) Portugal occupies a good position on access and on international education, with all pupils, regardless of status, access school and support for disadvantaged families. The MIPEX III highlights ACIDI projects and the national programme Escolhas [Choices] which in its third edition worked with 780 partners and 81,695 beneficiaries, particularly disadvantaged immigrant youth.

The I Plano para a Integração de Imigrantes (PII, 2007-2009) [I Plan for Immigrant Integration] and the II Plano para a Integração de Imigrantes (PII, 2010-2013) [II Plan for Immigrant Integration] adopted several measures accross various policy areas, including education.

For the I Plan for Immigrant Integration (2007-2009) the "Education" area of intervention included the measures (pp. 16-19):

- Training of teaching staff in interculturality;
- To revise the criteria of the school network to guarantee well balanced classes with regard to the distribution of students coming from the same groups/neighbourhoods as well as suggesting school boards to take into consideration the needs of schools to have a balanced “ethnic make up” in classes;
- Providing appropriate welcoming strategies and help the integration of student children of immigrants into schools, namely by taking into account the age levels of students, language ability and length of stay in Portugal;
- Involvement of immigrant families in School;
- Involvement of socio-cultural mediators within the school context, in collaboration with immigrant associations;
- To give importance to the role of the teacher in the welcoming and integration of students of immigrant descent;
- Equipping schools with pedagogical materials for supporting intercultural and anti-racist education;
- To reinforce Education Ofﬁces within National immigrant Support Centres with the aim of offering help in resolving problems related to the process of school enrolment for students of immigrant descent;
- To extend information for immigrant families about the Portuguese education system and how to enrol descendents of immigrants into that same system;
- Recognition, certiﬁcation and validation of immigrant qualiﬁcations in the scope of the “New Opportunities” initiative;
- Collaboration of immigrant associations in promoting access to education for all children andyoung people of immigrant descent whatever their nature or immigrant status in the country;
- To expand and encourage the training and research in the ﬁeld of intercultural education;
- To improve qualitative and quantitave data on cultural diversity in schools;
- To promote the welcoming of foreign students both on their immediate arrival into Portugal and during their stay;
- To publish an Information Guide for foreign students containing useful and necessary information for welcoming and integrating foreign university students;
- To promote the education and the spreading of science as a factor of social integration.

For the II Plan for Immigrant Integration covering the period 2010-2013 the "Education" area of intervention includes the measures (pp. 20-23):

- Reinforcing Training in Intercultural Dialogue as part of Continuous Teacher Training, by strengthening continuous training in the form of short-term vocational training and training workshops organized by teacher training centres;
- Defining and implementing recommendations for the constitution of balanced school classes and bringing school strategies into line for the welcoming of foreign students and descendents of immigrants;
- Improve the collection of statistical data on cultural diversity in schools;
- Diversification of offerings in education and training;
- Integration of intercultural mediators in the school context as part of the “Educational Territories for Priority
Intervention” (TEIP) programme;
- Access by foreign students to social action support in school, at all levels of education;
- Informing schools of intercultural teaching resources for intercultural and anti-racist education;
- Dissemination of best practices in the welcoming, aid and integration of students who are descendents of immigrants;
- Support for the welcoming and integration of foreign students and students who are descendents of immigrants in Portugal;
- The “SEF goes to school” initiative - streamlining document regularization processes for immigrant minors
attending state schools.

The "Culture and Language" area of intervention also includes a measure conceived to consolidate the Portuguese as a Second Language programme, enforce the applicable legislation on Portuguese as a Second Language and increase awareness of the existence of courses in Portuguese as a Second
Language targeted essentially to inform the people responsible for children’s education (p. 15).

Type (R/D)

Key socio-economic / Institutional Areas

Victimisation in schools concerning bullying and harassment is a theme with growing attention in the public sphere and academic research, but there is no evidence of being a problem especially affecting migrants and ethnic minorities.

Groups affected/interested

Migrants

Roma & Travelers

Ethnic minorities

Type (R/D)

Anti-migrant/xenophobia

Anti-roma/ romaphobia

Key socio-economic / Institutional Areas

There is a programme for teaching Portuguese as a second language in the nacional official curricula, but there isn't a provision of option to learn mother language in schools. The four foreign languages included in the curricula are English, French, German and Spanish.

Qualitative Info

According to the Contribution from Portugal to the Annnual Report of the Fundamental Rights Agency of the European Union (2009) almost all Portuguese Roma have Portuguese as their maternal language. Other ethnic minorities, nammelly those resulting from recent immigration, don't have access to teaching in their minority language. The Ministry of Education has developed a program for teaching Portuguese as a second language, with the sons of recent immigrants in mind, nammelly those that come from non-portuguese speaking countries. But the aim is to adapt these students to learning in Portuguese, and not to teach them in their mother tongue.

However, the guidelines document for the Portuguese as non-mother tongue in nacional curricula, delivered in 2005 and conceived under a programme for the integration of pupils which don't have Portuguese as mother tongue, includes a reference to support programmes for learning mother language and culture of origin outside the official school curricula.

Key socio-economic / Institutional Areas

There is some evidence that school materials and methodologies can be modified to reflect the diversity of school population, although the national curricula is common to all public schools.

Qualitative Info

One example is the Portuguese as a Second Language programme in national curricula developed by the Ministry of Education for teaching Portuguese as a second language, with the children of recent immigrants in mind, nammelly those that come from non-portuguese speaking countries. The Third Report on Portugal published by the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) highlights the legislation providing for the introduction in schools of these classes in Portuguese as a second language for children whose mother tongue is not Portuguese.

The ECRI report highlights initiatives taken by the Alto Comissariado para a Imigração e Diálogo Intercultural (ACIDI) [High Commission for Immigration and Intercultural Dialogue] designed to raise the awareness of non-Roma teachers and pupils to Roma culture. The report also refers to the case of a minority of Roma children whose parents have a nomadic lifestyle and benefit from the school network which enables them to attend school throughout the year in Portugal.

According to the report Complementary Data Collection - Contribution from Portugal to the Annual Report of the Fundamental Rights Agency of the European Union (2009), in order to facilitate intercultural teaching and learning the Ministério da Educação [Ministry of Education] and the Alto Comissariado para a Imigração e Diálogo Intercultural (ACIDI) [High Commission for Immigration and Intercultural Dialogue] provided the schools with intercultural material. The Ministry of Education provided the General guidelines for the Teaching of Portuguese as a Second Language for secondary education, an Handbook for Citizenship and a Reference Book of Portuguese for speakers of other languages.

The I Plano para a Integração dos Imigrantes (PII, 2007-2009) [I Plan for Immigrant Integration] and the II Plano para a Integração dos Imigrantes (PII, 2010-2013) [II Plan for Immigrant Integration] adopted measures regarding teaching materials and the diversity of the school population.

In this regard, the I Plan for Immigrant Integration included the measures: providing appropriate welcoming strategies and help the integration of student children of immigrants into schools, namely by taking into account the age levels of students, language ability and length of stay in Portugal; equipping schools with pedagogical materials for supporting intercultural and anti-racist education; to improve qualitative and quantitave data on cultural diversity in schools (pp. 16-19).

The II Plan for Immigrant Integration covering the period 2010-2013 includes the measures: informing schools of intercultural teaching resources for intercultural and anti-racist education; dissemination of best practices and support for the the welcoming, aid and integration of students who are descendents of immigrants; improve the collection of statistical data on cultural diversity in schools (pp. 20-23).

Yes, there are good practices and initiatives to foster intercultural coexistence in schools.

Qualitative Info

The Third Report on Portugal published by the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) highlights some initiatives taken to encourage school attendance by Roma children, as the creation of posts of socio-cultural mediators who act as a liaison point between families and schools and initiatives taken by the Alto Comissariado para a Imigração e Diálogo Intercultural (ACIDI) [High Commission for Immigration and Intercultural Dialogue] designed to raise the awareness of non-Roma teachers and pupils to Roma culture.

According to the report Complementary Data Collection - Contribution from Portugal to the Annual Report of the Fundamental Rights Agency of the European Union (2009) the Gabinete de Apoio à Comunidade Cigana (GACI) [Cabinet for Roma Communities Support] was created in 2006 within the structure of the High Commission for Immigration and Intercultural Dialogue with the mission of intervening and participating in projects, and developing field activities to empower Roma associations, train social intervention technicians and teachers, as well as Roma mediators. The cabinet has promoted the schooling of Roma children and suppported the training of teachers in Roma culture and history to facilitate their work with children and their families.

According to the same report, in order to facilitate intercultural teaching and learning the Ministério da Educação [Ministry of Education] and the Alto Comissariado para a Imigração e Diálogo Intercultural (ACIDI) [High Commission for Immigration and Intercultural Dialogue] provided the schools with intercultural material. The Ministry of Education provided the General guidelines for the Teaching of Portuguese as a Second Language for secondary education, an Handbook for Citizenship and a Reference Book of Portuguese for speakers of other languages. The High Commission for Immigration and Intercultural Dialogue created two websites dedicated to the theme of interculturality: Entreculturas (for an adult public) and entrekulturas (for a younger audience), and produced a leaflet on cultural diversity to be distributed in schools. All these measures are developed in the ambit of the Plano para a Integração dos Imigrantes (PII) [Plan for Immigrant Integration].

The I Plan for Immigrant Integration (2007-2009) and the II Plan for Immigrant Integration (2010-2013) adopted several measures accross various policy areas. For the I Plan for Immigrant Integration the "Education" area of intervention included among other measures on intercultural education (pp. 16-19):

- Training of teaching staff in interculturality;
- To revise the criteria of the school network to guarantee well balanced classes with regard to the distribution of students coming from the same groups/neighbourhoods as well as suggesting school boards to take into consideration the needs of schools to have a balanced “ethnic make up” in classes;
- Providing appropriate welcoming strategies and help the integration of student children of immigrants into schools, namely by taking into account the age levels of students, language ability and length of stay in Portugal;
- Involvement of immigrant families in school;
- Involvement of socio-cultural mediators within the school context, in collaboration with immigrant associations;
- To give importance to the role of the teacher in the welcoming and integration of students of immigrant descent;
- Equipping schools with pedagogical materials for supporting intercultural and anti-racist education;
- To expand and encourage the training and research in the ﬁeld of intercultural education;
- To publish an Information Guide for foreign students containing useful and necessary information for welcoming and integrating foreign university students.

For the II Plan for Immigrant Integration covering the period 2010-2013 the "Education" area of intervention includes among other measures on intercultural education (pp. 20-23):

- Reinforcing Training in Intercultural Dialogue as part of Continuous Teacher Training, by strengthening continuous training in the form of short-term vocational training and training workshops organized by teacher training centres;
- Defining and implementing recommendations for the constitution of balanced school classes and bringing school strategies into line for the welcoming of foreign students and descendents of immigrants;
- Integration of intercultural mediators in the school context as part of the “Educational Territories for Priority
Intervention” (TEIP) programme;
- Informing schools of intercultural teaching resources for intercultural and anti-racist education;
- Dissemination of best practices in the welcoming, aid and integration of students who are descendents of immigrants;
- Support for the welcoming and integration of foreign students and students who are descendents of immigrants in Portugal.

Key socio-economic / Institutional Areas

Reference to immigrants, ethnic minorities and diversity in education is present in some measures concerning teachers training in interculturality.

Qualitative Info

The Third Report on Portugal published by the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) refers to the initiatives taken by the Alto Comissariado para a Imigração e Diálogo Intercultural (ACIDI) [High Commission for Immigration and Intercultural Dialogue] designed to raise the awareness of non-Roma teachers and pupils to Roma culture.

According to the report Complementary Data Collection - Contribution from Portugal to the Annual Report of the Fundamental Rights Agency of the European Union (2009) the Gabinete de Apoio à Comunidade Cigana (GACI) [Cabinet for Roma Communities Support] has been suppporting the training of teachers in Roma culture and history to facilitate their work with children and their families.

According to the same report, in order to facilitate intercultural teaching and learning the Ministério da Educação [Ministry of Education] and the Alto Comissariado para a Imigração e Diálogo Intercultural (ACIDI) [High Commission for Immigration and Intercultural Dialogue] provided the schools with intercultural material. The Ministry of Education provided the General guidelines for the Teaching of Portuguese as a Second Language for secondary education, an Handbook for Citizenship and a Reference Book of Portuguese for speakers of other languages. The High Commission for Immigration and Intercultural Dialogue created two websites dedicated to the theme of interculturality: Entreculturas (for an adult public) and Entrekulturas (for a younger audience), and produced a leaflet on cultural diversity to be distributed in schools. All these measures are developed in the ambit of the Plano para a Integração dos Imigrantes (PII) [Plan for Immigrant Integration].

The I Plan for Immigrant Integration included the measures: training of teaching staff in interculturality; to expand and encourage the training and research in the ﬁeld of intercultural education (p. 16).

The II Plan for Immigrant Integration covering the period 2010-2013 includes the measures: reinforcing training in intercultural dialogue as part of Continuous Teacher Training, by strengthening continuous training in the form of short-term vocational training and training workshops organized by teacher training centres (p. 20).

Type (R/D)

Key socio-economic / Institutional Areas

Immigrants seem to be more susceptible to tuberculosis and work accidents. Migrant women seem to be particularly vulnerable in accessing maternal and child healthcare. No legal obstacles exist on the access to public healthcare by migrants: all possessing residence permit can make their inscription, those in an irregular condition can also access with a document issued by the parish of residence. The Plan for Immigrant Integration adopts measures concerning healthcare services.

There is some evidence of increased morbidity rates for migrant groups concerning certain health problems.

Qualitative Info

As refered in the Portuguese State of the Art Report issued in 2009 by the Information Network on Good Practice in Health Care for Migrants and Minorities in Europe (MIGHEALTHNET), according to the Fourth National Health Interview Survey - an instrument of assessment and observation of health, collecting population based data and generating estimations on the state of health and illness and respective determinants -, immigrants present a more favourable self-reported state of health in comparison to Portuguese citizens (62.8% classify their state of health as good or very good), show lower propensity to short term physical disability and experience a lower prevalence of chronic diseases (except for asthma). However, immigrants seem to be more susceptible to certain health problems and risk behaviour, namely malnutrition, high risk and/or early pregnancies, tuberculosis and work accidents.

In the case of tuberculosis, it is known that in Portugal the incidence of the disease among immigrants is higher compared to the general population. It also generally acknowledged that immigrants are exposed to higher risk because they mostly come from countries showing high prevalence rates of the infection and many of them live in poor economic and social conditions. According to data presented in a paper published by the Portuguese Journal of Pulmonology, in 2003, the incidence of tuberculosis per 100 thousand inhabitants was 41 in the general population and 149 among the immigrant population, thus 3.6 times higher, with a total number of 324 cases. Geographically this situation had more expression in Lisbon (21%) and Setúbal (20%), with almost all of the patients coming from PALOP countries, particularly from Angola (3.5%) and Cape Verde (2.6%). However, there is also a considerable number of people infected with the disease coming from Guinea-Bissau, Saint Tomé and Prince and Mozambique. Most of these patients are men who have been residing in Portugal for more than 5 years (Rifes and Villar, 2003). Tuberculosis is also closely associated with HIV, being one of the more common opportunistic diseases.

According to information supplied by health professionals and NGOs, there has been a positive evolution in Portugal in recent years in terms of access to information, means of prevention and tests on the part of immigrants, as well as access to treatment. The main problem identified was fear on the part of immigrants in using the services and treatments available, due to the stereotypes and stigma associated with this particular infection. Immigrants often failed to do tests and only consulted the health services when the disease reached a serious stage. Often, when they were informed of their health problem they missed medical consultations and/or the treatments.

According to developed research, there is a higher frequency of low weight premature births from African origin mothers when compared to Portuguese mothers. The descents of immigrants tend do have higher foetal and neo-natal mortality and mothers suffer from more pathologies during pregnancy, namely infectious diseases. As stated in the Portuguese State of the Art Report of the Information Network on Good Practice in Health Care for Migrants and Minorities in Europe (MIGHEALTHNET), this last fact can be justified by their later attendance of pre-natal medical care.

Regarding the immigrant workers vulnerability to have work accidents, according to data from the Authority for Work Conditions there was a slight reduction in the number of fatal work accidents between 2004 and 2008 (from 197 in the first year to 114 in the last). Of those, 45 occurred in civil construction companies, a sector in which more than 50% of fatal work accidents occur. The most frequent accidents involve Ukrainians, Angolans and Romanians.

Type (R/D)

Key socio-economic / Institutional Areas

Yes, there have been detected some health issues more prevalent among immigrants.

Qualitative Info

As refered in the Portuguese State of the Art Report issued in 2009 by the Information Network on Good Practice in Health Care for Migrants and Minorities in Europe (MIGHEALTHNET), according to the Fourth National Health Interview Survey - an instrument of assessment and observation of health, collecting population based data and generating estimations on the state of health and illness and respective determinants -, immigrants present a more favourable self-reported state of health in comparison to Portuguese citizens (62.8% classify their state of health as good or very good), show lower propensity to short term physical disability and experience a lower prevalence of chronic diseases (except for asthma). However, immigrants seem to be more susceptible to certain health problems and risk behaviour, namely malnutrition, high risk and/or early pregnancies, tuberculosis and work accidents.

In the case of tuberculosis, it is known that in Portugal the incidence of the disease among immigrants is higher compared to the general population. It also generally acknowledged that immigrants are exposed to higher risk because they mostly come from countries showing high prevalence rates of the infection and many of them live in poor economic and social conditions. According to data presented in a paper published by the Portuguese Journal of Pulmonology, in 2003, the incidence of tuberculosis per 100 thousand inhabitants was 41 in the general population and 149 among the immigrant population, thus 3.6 times higher, with a total number of 324 cases. Geographically this situation had more expression in Lisbon (21%) and Setúbal (20%), with almost all of the patients coming from PALOP countries, particularly from Angola (3.5%) and Cape Verde (2.6%). However, there is also a considerable number of people infected with the disease coming from Guinea-Bissau, Saint Tomé and Prince and Mozambique. Most of these patients are men who have been residing in Portugal for more than 5 years (Rifes and Villar, 2003). Tuberculosis is also closely associated with HIV, being one of the more common opportunistic diseases.

According to information supplied by health professionals and NGOs, there has been a positive evolution in Portugal in recent years in terms of access to information, means of prevention and tests on the part of immigrants, as well as access to treatment. The main problem identified was fear on the part of immigrants in using the services and treatments available, due to the stereotypes and stigma associated with this particular infection. Immigrants often failed to do tests and only consulted the health services when the disease reached a serious stage. Often, when they were informed of their health problem they missed medical consultations and/or the treatments.

According to developed research, there is a higher frequency of low weight premature births from African origin mothers when compared to Portuguese mothers. The descents of immigrants tend do have higher foetal and neo-natal mortality and mothers suffer from more pathologies during pregnancy, namely infectious diseases. As stated in the Portuguese State of the Art Report of the Information Network on Good Practice in Health Care for Migrants and Minorities in Europe (MIGHEALTHNET), this last fact can be justified by their later attendance of pre-natal medical care.

Regarding the immigrant workers vulnerability to have work accidents, according to data from the Authority for Work Conditions, there was a slight reduction in the number of fatal work accidents between 2004 and 2008 (from 197 in the first year to 114 in the last). Of those, 45 occurred in civil construction companies, a sector in which more than 50% of fatal work accidents occur. The most frequent accidents involve Ukrainians, Angolans and Romanians.

All immigrants possessing a residence permit can make their inscription in the National Health Service. Those in an irregular condition can also access health services if they present a document issued by the parish of their residence.

Qualitative Info

Although no legal obstacles exist on the access to public health services by immigrants, there may be some occasional doubts, by the staff of the National Health System, regarding the entitlement of immigrants to public health care. To put an end to the discriminatory treatment that such doubts may give rise to, the Direcção Geral de Saúde (DGS) [Health General Directorate] clarified that all immigrants possessing a residence permit can make their inscription in the National Health Service. Those in an irregular condition can also access health services if they present a document issued by the parish of their residence, testifying that they live there for longer then ninety days (not always easy to obtain). The latter have only access in cases of urgent and vital care, transmissible diseases, maternity and family planning and vaccination.

Source

Dias, B. Ralha, T. and Silva, E. (2009), Complementary Data Collection - Contribution from Portugal to the Annual Report of the Fundamental Rights Agency of the European Union, Vienna: European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights.

Groups affected/interested

Migrants

Refugees

Roma & Travelers

Ethnic minorities

Type (R/D)

Anti-migrant/xenophobia

Anti-roma/ romaphobia

Key socio-economic / Institutional Areas

According to European comparative data, in Portugal migrants seem to have a similar risk of poverty as the rest of the population. However, Portugal figures between the countries with the highest material deprivation rates in the case of non-EU migrants.

Qualitative Info

According to the research note Detailed Analysis of the Relative Position of Migrants developed under the Social Situation Observatory – Income distribution and living conditions (2010), which analyses the occurrence of risk-of-poverty and deprivation among the migrant population based primarily on the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC), compared to EU migrants there is at least a twofold difference in the at-risk-of-poverty of non-EU migrants in Portugal. However, the research note highlights that there is no significant additional poverty risk for non-EU born population in Portugal. The report presents the following at-risk-of-poverty rates among different migrant groups according to 2007 data (income year): 9.4% (EU migrants), 18.5% (non-EU migrants), 18.5% (local population).

According to the research note, in contrast to the norm migrants seem to have a more favourable situation than the local population in a few countries, which are not typical destination countries. In Lithuania, Hungary, Poland and Portugal, the at-risk-of-poverty rates of both EU and non-EU migrants are lower than that of the local population. All of these countries have relatively small migrant groups, much below the EU average.

In Portugal non-EU elderly migrants appear to have a much lower risk of poverty than local elderly. Regarding education, in Portugal the share of migrants with tertiary education is larger than that of the local population, holding for both EU and non-EU migrants.

However, Portugal figures between the countries with the highest material deprivation rates in the case of non-EU migrants. According to the research note, there is weak relationship between average material deprivation across countries and the risk of poverty, reflecting the fact that the latter measures relative rather than absolute poverty. While material deprivation rates are defined at an EU level, poverty thresholds vary depending on the average level of national incomes, so some low-income countries may have low poverty rates, while a large share of the population may be materially deprived according to the universal EU standard. This would be the case in Portugal, according to the report.

According to the report Indicators of Immigrant Integration - A Pilot Study developed by Eurostat, in Portugal the proportion of foreign born persons at risk of poverty after social transfers is lower than the proportion for the total population. This pilot study presents information for each Member State about common indicators of migrant integration in four main policy areas - employment, education, social inclusion and active citizenship - based on data available from the European Union Labour Force Survey (EU-LFS), the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC), Eurostat's migration statistics and the OECD's Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA).

Lelkes, O., Zolyomi, E. (2010), Research Note 1/2010: Detailed analysis of the relative position of migrants, Social Situation Observatory – Income distribution and living conditions 2010, European Centre for the European Centre for Social Welfare Policy and Research, http://ec.europa.eu/social/BlobServlet?docId=6722&langId=en, Date of access: 24.02.2012.

The Plano para a Integração de Imigrantes [Plan for Immigrant Integration] adopts several measures concerning the health area of intervention, including the promotion of immigrants access to health, improving health services, training schemes on interculturality for National Health Service (SNS) professionals and integrating immigrant professionals with degrees in medicine, among other policies and good practices.

Qualitative Info

The I Plano para a Integração de Imigrantes (PII, 2007-2009) [I Plan for Immigrant Integration] and the II Plano para a Integração de Imigrantes (PII, 2010-2013) [II Plan for Immigrant Integration] adopted several measures accross various policy areas, including health.

For the I Plan for Immigrant Integration (2007-2009) the "Health" area of intervention included the measures (pp. 13-15):

- To promote the carrying out of training, education and community schemes to combat the lack of information held by immigrants in relation to health services and to encourage them to use the National Health Service (MS/ ARS), at a local level and in conjunction with Health Centres;
- To promote immigrant access to health services by stimulating promotional information schemes at a regional level and encouraging through sensitisation and education the highest number of immigrants to enrol in, and make appointments at, Health Centres on a wider national scale;
- To stimulate the carrying out projects related to immigrants and health at a municipal level;
- Access to health for foreign citizens without ofﬁcial status under the terms provided by law, through their enrolment in the National Health Service by presenting papers issued by ACIDI, I.P. as an alternative to proof of residence issued by local councils;
- To implement the integration of Portuguese hospitals into the “Migrant Friendly Hospitals” European Network by way of improving both the services and the cultural organisations related to migrant populations;
- Training schemes on interculturality for National Health Service (SNS) professionals with the aim of creating the intercultural and linguistic skills of health carers to improve the health of the immigrant and ethnic minority populations;
- Programme for integrating immigrant professionals with degrees in medicine who can help answer the needs of the SNS, respond to the special needs of immigrant patients (e.g.
with communication difﬁculties) as well as share in “inter-pares” training opportunities
on interculturality;
- To develop a Socio-Cultural Mediation Programme within the hospital and health centre network in regions with large numbers of immigrants with a view to facilitating access to health through linguistic and cultural means;
- To develop partnerships between NGOs, the National Health Service and other organisations for promoting immigrant and ethnic minority access to health in Portugal by creating effective support mechanisms on questions of immigrants and ethnic minorities to facilitate developing the most suitable services rendered which meet the needs of immigrants (e.g. from the cultural and linguistic point of view) and assessing the needs, the impact of schemes and joint responsibility in the process of improving available services;
- To publicise the conditions for access to health in the Consulates, of countries of origin, in Portugal and also in Portuguese.

For the II Plan for Immigrant Integration covering the period 2010-2013 the "Health" area of intervention includes the measures (pp. 24-26):

- Promoting access by immigrants to the national Health Service: Implementing strategies which reduce inequalities in the health system by providing the resources and introducing the measures which permit the health service to meetr to the needs of immigrants in accordance with the strategies to be established in the National Health Plan 2011-2016; informing immigrants of their rights and duties with regard to the National Health Service (SNS), including Law no. 33/2009 of 14 July which establishes the right to receive emergency treatment from the SNS and the information circular issued by the Directorate General for Health (12/DQS/DMD, of 7 May) on the access of immigrants to the SNS;
- Training plan for intercultural skills of SNS employees by extending to all regional health authorities the Training Plan for Intercultural Skills previously implemented by the regional health authority of Lisboa e Vale do Tejo in conjunction with ACIDI;
- implementation of a migrant-friendly healthcare services programme by disseminating the international “Migrant-Friendly Hospital” in the National Health Service with the objective of improving services and organizational culture vis-à-vis the immigrant population;
- Developing partnerships for the promotion of immigrants’ access to healthcare in Portugal: empower communities for the creation of environments conducive to good
health via the activation of a network of local partnerships and the establishment of new ones, involving different social actors ranging from public and private organizations to NGOs, civil, religious and social action associations and other sectors of society;
- Institutionalization of procedures designed to improve the management of Health Agreements and facilitating access by immigrants and their companions to health services, namely the medical assistance process for patients evacuated from African Countries with Portuguese as an Official Language (PALOP), under the cooperation agreements in healthcare signed by Portugal and the PALOP countries. The Foreign Patient Assistance Programme (PADE) promoted by ACIDI in conjunction with the ISS provided a response to some of the problems faced in this area, and served as a resource for the welcoming and supervision of patients and the people accompanying them;
- Investing in the promotion of mental health among immigrants via the National Mental Health Coordinating Office and in articulation with the National Council for Mental Health and with non-government bodies.

The II Plan for Immigrant Integration also includes in the "Justice" area of intervention a measure for promoting foreign prisoners access to the National Health Service (p. 30).

Groups affected/interested

Type (R/D)

Key socio-economic / Institutional Areas

In Portugal migrants can't vote to national elections, having the right to vote and stand to local elections under Law no. 50/96 of 4th September. The right to vote and be elected is based in the existence of reciprocity conditions. The Plan for Immigrant Integration included an area concerning access to citizenship, political rights and civic participation which aims to encourage participation by promoting the registration of immigrants eligible for voting.

Migrants have the right to vote to local elections under some conditions.

Qualitative Info

The Portuguese Constitution establishes the principle of equality among citizens (13th and 15th articles), Portuguese and legal foreign residents have equal civil, social and economic rights, with the exception for the right to political participation and citizenship. Law no. 50/96 of 4 September stipulates that EU nationals, citizens from african countries where Portuguese is officially spoken (PALOP) residing for more than two years in Portugal and other third-country nationals residing for more than three years can vote in local elections.

The right to vote is based in the existence of reciprocity conditions linked to residence status and the economic incorporation of immigrants. Declaration 2-A/97 granted the vote to Portuguese citizens and nationals of the European Union, Brazil and Cape Verde, Argentina, Israel, Norway, Peru and Uruguay, and the right to be elected to Portuguese citizens and nationals of the European Union, Brazil and Cape Verde, Peru and Uruguay). It also allowed certain rights to be accorded to citizens of countries where Portuguese is officially spoken if there is an agreement between Portugal and the country concerned.

The Plano para a Integração de Imigrantes [Plan for Immigrant Integration] included an area concerning access to citizenship, political rights and civic participation which aims to encourage participation by promoting the registration of the immigrant population eligible for voting in elections.

Qualitative Info

The I Plano para a Integração de Imigrantes (PII, 2007-2009) [I Plan for Immigrant Integration] and the II Plano para a Integração de Imigrantes (PII, 2010-2013) [II Plan for Immigrant Integration] adopted several measures accross various policy areas, including access to citizenship, political rights and civic participation.

For the I Plan for Immigrant Integration (2007-2009) the "Access to Citizenship and Political Rights" area of intervention included the measures (pp. 36-37):

- Promoting a campaign to publish the new Nationality Law and to create a network to help with instructing legal processes in applying for and acquiring nationality;
- Implementing a scheme to promote the census of all immigrants eligible for participation in local authority elections and an appeal for electoral participation of immigrants who are now able to politically take part in Portuguese society;
- Promoting a study of the Immigration Observatory and subsequent public debate about the political participation of long term resident immigrants.

For the II Plan for Immigrant Integration covering the period 2010-2013 the "Access to Citizenship and Civic Participation" area of intervention includes the measure (p. 32):

- Promoting the registration of the immigrant population eligible for voting in elections by reinforcing services to immigrant citizens via the creation of a Voter Registration Office.

Key socio-economic / Institutional Areas

Migrants have the right to stand for local elections under some conditions.

Qualitative Info

The Law no. 50/96 of 4 September establishes that citizens from african countries where Portuguese is officially spoken (PALOP) can be elected for positions in local authorities if they have been legally residing in Portugal for four years or for five years in the case of other third-country nationals.

The right to vote is based in the existence of reciprocity conditions linked to residence status and the economic incorporation of immigrants. Declaration 2-A/97 granted the right to be elected to Portuguese citizens and nationals of the European Union, Brazil, Cape Verde, Peru and Uruguay. It also allowed certain rights to be accorded to citizens of countries where Portuguese is officially spoken if there is an agreement between Portugal and the country concerned.

Key socio-economic / Institutional Areas

Yes, migrant's representatives are formally engagend in consultation with Portuguese public authorities.

Qualitative Info

Migrants are engaged in consultation with public authorities mainly through the participation developed under the Conselho Consultivo para os Assuntos da Imigração (COCAI) [Consultative Comittee for Immigration Affairs] created in 1998 under the Alto Comissariado para a Imigração e Diálogo Intercultural (ACIDI) [High Commission for Immigration and Intercultural Dialogue].

The Comissão para a Igualdade e Contra da Discriminação Racial (CICDR) [Commission for Equality and Against Racial Discrimination] also includes two members from immigrant associations.

Key socio-economic / Institutional Areas

No, there isn't authomatic citizenship acquisition by birth for migrant children born in Portugal. Portuguese nationality can be acquired by third generation immigrants if they have a parent born in Portugal and by second generation immigrants if the parent has his or her legal residence in and has been settled in Portugal for at least five years.

Qualitative Info

The Nationality Law 2/2006 of 17th April - regulated through Decree-law 237-A/2006, 14th December - made significant amendments to the previous nationality law (Law 37/81 of 3 October 1981) in terms of acquisition of Portuguese nationality. Among them there was a reinforcement of the “ius soli” principle facilitating the access of immigrants’ children born in Portugal to Portuguese citizenship.

According to the new law, Portuguese citizenship can be accessed by way of nationality of origin or by way of acquisition (by the effect of will, by adoption or by naturalisation). Portuguese nationality is granted to the descendents of immigrants already born in Portugal, if at least one of the parents was born in Portugal and lived in the country, independently of the legal document held at the time the child was born; descendents of foreign citizens born in Portugal, providing the parents are not serving their country of origin, declare the intent to obtain Portuguese nationality and at the moment of birth at least one of the parents has been legally living in Portugal for at least five years. A subjective right to naturalisation was also consecrated in the new law to minors descendent of foreign citizens but born in Portugal, if at the moment of applying for nationality one of their parents had resided legally in Portugal for five years (independent of the residence title they held) or if the minor had concluded the first cycle of basic education in Portugal.

Key socio-economic / Institutional Areas

Law 2/2006 of 17 April 2006 on nationality entered into force on 15 December 2006, together with Decree-law 237/A/2006 of 14 December 2006, and constitutes an amendment to Nationality Law no. 37/81. This new legislation on nationality facilitates the integration of immigrants living in Portugal through naturalisation.

Qualitative Info

According to the Government the law constitutes "an important step against exclusion." It will ease the integration of second and third generation foreign citizens born in Portugal and reduce cases of lack of equal treatment on the grounds of nationality which in many cases coincide with discrimination against ethnic minorities.

Portuguese nationality can be acquired notably, by third generation immigrants, if they have a parent born in Portugal and by second generation immigrants if the parent has his or her legal residence in and has been settled in Portugal for at least five years. Immigrants' associations consider that this law will simply benefit the third generation by leaving out most of the immigrants born in Portugal. Some NGO’s have criticised this law as the acquisition of Portuguese nationality still depends on the progenitor’s legal residence in the country. This new nationality law is considered as a step to reducing discrimination based on nationality. This law is applicable to all pending cases before administrative authorities and courts, except those where sanctions for discrimination can be imposed. As foreseen in law, these sanctions cannot be retroactive.

Key socio-economic / Institutional Areas

The formal national strategy concerning social cohesion and integration of migrants and minorities is developed mainly through the National Action Plan for Inclusion - which presents the Portuguese national strategy in the area of poverty and social exclusion - and the Plan for Immigrants Integration. Both plans adopt several measures and practises accross various policy areas.

Yes, the formal Portuguese strategy concerning the integration of migrants and minorities is expressed mainly through action plans for social inclusion and for immigrants integration.

Qualitative Info

The formal national strategy on the integration of migrants and minorities is developed mainly through the Plano Nacional de Acção para a Inclusão (PNAI) [National Action Plan for Inclusion] - which presents the Portuguese national strategy in the area of poverty and social exclusion - and the Plano para a Integração de Imigrantes (PII) [Plan for Immigrant Integration].

Since the beginning the Plano Nacional de Acção para a Inclusão (PNAI, 2003-2005) [National Action Plan for Inclusion] has the immigrant population as one of its main target groups (toghether with people with disabilities, children and older people). The second edition of PNAI (2006-2008) addressed immigration and disabilities through the lens of gender perspective and multiple discrimination. The third edition of PNAI (2008-2010) added also ethnic minorities as a target group.

The I Plano para a Integração de Imigrantes (PII, 2007-2009) [I Plan for Immigrant Integration] and the II Plano para a Integração de Imigrantes (PII, 2010-2013) [II Plan for Immigrant Integration] adopted several measures accross various policy areas, including the integration of immigrants in culture, language, employment, professional training, housing and combating racism and discrimination.

The II Plan covering the period 2010-2013 added two new areas of intervention: promotion of diversity and intercultural dialogue, and elderly immigrants. It includes 90 measures distributed accross 17 main areas of intervention:

Key socio-economic / Institutional Areas

The integration strategy applies to immigrants, ethnic minorities and Roma. It also addresses people with disabilities, children and older people.

Qualitative Info

Since the beginning the Plano Nacional de Acção para a Inclusão (PNAI, 2003-2005) [National Action Plan for Inclusion] has the immigrant population as one of its main target groups (toghether with people with disabilities, children and older people). The second edition of PNAI (2006-2008) addressed immigration and disabilities through the lens of gender perspective and multiple discrimination. The third edition of PNAI (2008-2010) added also ethnic minorities as a target group.

The I Plano para a Integração de Imigrantes (PII, 2007-2009) [I Plan for Immigrant Integration] and the II Plano para a Integração de Imigrantes (PII, 2010-2013) [II Plan for Immigrant Integration] adopted several measures accross various policy areas, including the integration of immigrants in culture, language, employment, professional training, housing, gender issues and combating racism and discrimination.

The II Plan covering the period 2010-2013 added two new areas of intervention: elderly immigrants and promotion of diversity and intercultural dialogue.

Key socio-economic / Institutional Areas

Yes, both the Plano Nacional de Acção para a Inclusão (PNAI) [National Action Plan for Inclusion] and the Plano para a Integração de Imigrantes (PII) [Plan for Immigrant Integration] adopt several measures and practises accross various policy areas.

Yes, the formal integration strategy is considered effective, although some of the proposed measures were not fully executed and the need to continue and to deepen the integration strategy is acknowledge .

Qualitative Info

The integration strategy concerning migrants is implemented mainly through the Plano Nacional de Acção para a Inclusão (PNAI) [National Action Plan for Inclusion] - which presents the Portuguese national strategy in the area of poverty and social exclusion - and the Plano para a Integração dos Imigrantes (PII) [Plan for Immigrant Integration].

The Plano Nacional de Acção para a Inclusão (PNAI) [National Action Plan for Inclusion] presents the Portuguese national strategy in the area of poverty and social exclusion and adopts measures of local policy in articulation with the national level of intervention, having immigrants and ethnic minorites as main target groups (toghether with people with disabilities, children and older people). The fourth edition of PNAI (2006-2008) addressed immigration and disabilities through the lens of gender perspective and multiple discrimination. The fifth edition of PNAI (2008-2010) added also ethnic minorities as a target group. This Plan includes the Programa Rede Social [Social Network Programme], Contratos Locais de Desenvolvimento Social [Social Development Local Contracts] and Iniciativa Bairros Críticos [Critical Neighbourhoods Initiative].

The I Plano para a Integração dos Imigrantes (PII, 2007-2009) [I Plan for Immigrant Integration] and the II Plano para a Integração dos Imigrantes (PII, 2010-2013) [II Plan for Immigrant Integration] adopted several measures accross various policy areas, including the integration of immigrants in culture, language, employment, housing, health, education and combating racism and discrimination. The Plan for Immigrant Integration is considered as one of the instruments of the wider National Action Plan for Inclusion.

Both Plano Nacional de Acção para a Inclusão (PNAI) [National Action Plan for Inclusion] and the Plano para a Integração de Imigrantes (PII) [Plan for Immigrant Integration] refer the role of Programa Escolhas [Choices Programme] as a tool for immigrant descendants integration. The Choices is a nationwide programme created in 2001 operating under the Alto Comissariado para a Imigração e Diálogo Intercultural (ACIDI) [High Commission for Immigration and Intercultural Dialogue] which aims to promote social inclusion of children and young people from vulnerable socio-economic backgrounds, particularly the descendants of immigrants and ethnic minorities, combating the territorial segregation and promoting the empowerment of children, youth and communities through the deconstruction of stereotypes and prejudices. Since 2004 this programme is based on locally planned projects implemented by local institutions. The Migrant Integration Policy Index (MIPEX III) highlights the positive role of the Choices Programme which in its third edition worked with 780 partners and 81,695 beneficiaries, particularly disadvantaged immigrant youth.

Promoted by the British Council and the Migration Policy Group (MGP), the Migrant Integration Policy Index includes 140 indicators across five areas considered essential for the integration of immigrants: access to the labour market, family reunion, political participation, access to nationality and measures to fight racism and discrimination. According to MIPEX III, Portugal occupies the second place in a ranking of 31 countries concerning the policies of immigrants integration. Based essentially on legislation and policies analysis and on the consultation of scholars and experts, the MIPEX III highlights the following measures concerning the integration of immigrants in Portugal:

- Portugal leads new labour migration countries on labour market mobility, family reunion.
- Greatest recent progress on targeting immigrants’ specific employment situation.
- Conditions for residence keeping up with realities of recession.
- 2006 Nationality Law best for common citizenship of all 31 MIPEX countries.
- 2007 Immigration Law makes greatest improvements on long-term residence in Europe.
- 2007 Law to recognise foreign qualifications for all.
- Migrant education policies, political opportunities, anti-discrimination laws are the best of the new immigration countries.
- All pupils have favourable access to schools and intercultural education.
- Voting rights less effective, consultative bodies less proactive.
- Anti-discrimination laws, equality bodies harder to use than in leading MIPEX countries.

Although this positive analysis provided by the Migrant Integration Policy Index, it is worth referring the final evaluation report of the I Plan for Immigrant Integration involving 13 ministries who worked on 122 policy measures with 295 goals to be implemented between 2007 and 2009. According to the evaluation report, around 81% of the foreseen measures were executed. The global analysis for the different areas of intervention was as follows:

The formal national strategy concerning social and community cohesion is expressed mainly through the Plano Nacional de Acção para a Inclusão (PNAI) [National Action Plan for Inclusion], which presents the Portuguese national strategy in the area of poverty and social exclusion.

Qualitative Info

The Plano Nacional de Acção para a Inclusão (PNAI, 2003-2005) [National Action Plan for Inclusion] has the immigrant population as one of its main target groups (toghether with people with disabilities, children and older people). The second edition of PNAI (2006-2008) addressed immigration and disabilities through the lens of gender perspective and multiple discrimination. The third edition of PNAI (2008-2010) added also ethnic minorities as a target group.

Qualitative Info

Since the beginning the Plano Nacional de Acção para a Inclusão (PNAI, 2003-2005) [National Action Plan for Inclusion] has the immigrant population as one of its main target groups (toghether with people with disabilities, children and older people). The second edition of PNAI (2006-2008) addressed immigration and disabilities through the lens of gender perspective and multiple discrimination. The third edition of PNAI (2008-2010) added also ethnic minorities as a target group.

The I Plano para a Integração de Imigrantes (PII, 2007-2009) [I Plan for Immigrant Integration] and the II Plano para a Integração de Imigrantes (PII, 2010-2013) [II Plan for Immigrant Integration] adopted several measures accross various policy areas, including the integration of immigrants in culture, language, employment, professional training, housing, gender issues and combating racism and discrimination.

Key socio-economic / Institutional Areas

Yes, the formal social and community cohesion strategies are considered effective and producing results, although some of the proposed measures were not fully executed and the need to continue and to deepen the social cohesion strategy is acknowledge.

Qualitative Info

The formal national strategy concerning social and community cohesion is expressed mainly through the Plano Nacional de Acção para a Inclusão (PNAI) [National Action Plan for Inclusion], which presents the Portuguese national strategy in the area of poverty and social exclusion. Regarding the social cohesion strategy, the Plano para a Integração dos Imigrantes (PII) [Plan for Immigrant Integration] is considered one important instrument of the wider National Action Plan for Inclusion.

The Plano Nacional de Acção para a Inclusão (PNAI) [National Action Plan for Inclusion] presents the Portuguese national strategy in the area of poverty and social exclusion and adopts measures of local policy in articulation with the national level of intervention, having immigrants and ethnic minorites as main target groups (toghether with people with disabilities, children and older people). The fourth edition of PNAI (2006-2008) addressed immigration and disabilities through the lens of gender perspective and multiple discrimination. The fifth edition of PNAI (2008-2010) added also ethnic minorities as a target group. This Plan includes the Programa Rede Social [Social Network Programme], Contratos Locais de Desenvolvimento Social [Social Development Local Contracts] and Iniciativa Bairros Críticos [Critical Neighbourhoods Initiative].

Both Plano Nacional de Acção para a Inclusão (PNAI) [National Action Plan for Inclusion] and the Plano para a Integração de Imigrantes (PII) [Plan for Immigrant Integration] refer the role of Programa Escolhas [Choices Programme] as a tool for immigrant descendants integration. The Programa Escolhas is a nationwide programme created in 2001 operating under the Alto Comissariado para a Imigração e Diálogo Intercultural (ACIDI) [High Commission for Immigration and Intercultural Dialogue] which aims to promote social inclusion of children and young people from vulnerable socio-economic backgrounds, particularly the descendants of immigrants and ethnic minorities, combating the territorial segregation and promoting the empowerment of children, youth and communities through the deconstruction of stereotypes and prejudices. Since 2004 this programme is based on locally planned projects implemented by local institutions. The Migrant Integration Policy Index (MIPEX III) highlights the positive role of the Choices Programme, which in its third edition worked with 780 partners and 81,695 beneficiaries, particularly disadvantaged immigrant youth.

Yes, the National Action Plan for inclusion addresses both integration and cohesion.

Qualitative Info

The Plano Nacional de Acção para a Inclusão (PNAI) [National Action Plan for Inclusion] presents the Portuguese national strategy in the area of poverty and social exclusion. The PNAI, 2003-2005 has the immigrant population as one of its main target groups (toghether with people with disabilities, children and older people). The second edition of PNAI (2006-2008) addressed immigration and disabilities through the lens of gender perspective and multiple discrimination. The third edition of PNAI (2008-2010) added also ethnic minorities as a target group.

The I Plano para a Integração de Imigrantes (PII, 2007-2009) [I Plan for Immigrant Integration] and the II Plano para a Integração de Imigrantes (PII, 2010-2013) [II Plan for Immigrant Integration] adopted several measures accross various policy areas, including the integration of immigrants in culture, language, employment, professional training, housing, gender issues and combating racism and discrimination.

Type (R/D)

Key socio-economic / Institutional Areas

There aren't restrictions of the freedom of peaceful assembly and association for migrants or minorities.
There isn't evidence of legal obstacles in manifesting religion. In 2001 was created the Commission of Religious Freedom.
There aren't legal restrictions preventing migrants or minorities in sport, at professional level in some sports there may be limitations in the number of foreigners. Hate speech is ground for sanctions to sport clubs.

Public authorities in Portugal do not recognise the existence of national or ethnic minorities, except for the Roma.

Qualitative Info

There are no officially recognised national or ethnic minorities in Portugal, and there are no institutionalised fora for communication between majority and minority communities. Public authorities in Portugal do not recognise the existence of national minorities, as was made clear in the answers to the Advisory Committee of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities. But the existence of an ethnic minority, the Roma, is recognised, and a cabinet was created, within the Alto Comissariado para a Imigração e Diálogo Intercultural (ACIDI) [High Commission for Immigration and Intercultural Dialogue] to promote Roma culture, traditions, identity and rights, the Gabinete de Apoio à Comunidade Cigana [Cabinet for Roma Communities Support] (GACI), with its own website.

Source

Dias, B. Ralha, T. and Silva, E. (2009), Complementary Data Collection - Contribution from Portugal to the Annual Report of the Fundamental Rights Agency of the European Union, Vienna: European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights.

There aren't restrictions of the freedom of peaceful assembly and freedom of association for migrants.

Qualitative Info

Article 13 of the Portuguese Constitution, on the Principle of Equality, prohibits discrimination on the grounds of ancestry, sex, race, language, country of origin, religion, political or ideological convictions, education, economic situation, social condition or sexual orientation. Article 15, on Aliens and Stateless Persons, states that aliens and stateless persons staying or residing in Portugal enjoy the same rights and are subject to the same duties as Portuguese citizens, except for political rights, to the performance of public duties that are not predominantly technical, or to rights and duties restricted to Portuguese citizens under the Constituttion and by law.

Article 46 of the Portuguese Constitution, on Freedom of Association, states that citizens have the right to form associations freely and without requiring any authorization provided such associations are not intended to promote violence and their objectives are not contrary to the criminal law. Associations may pursue their objectives freely without interference by any public authority. They cannot be dissolved by the State and their activities may not be suspended except by judicial decision in the cases provided by law.

There aren't restrictions of the freedom of peaceful assembly and freedom of association for minorities.

Qualitative Info

Article 13 of the Portuguese Constitution, on the Principle of Equality, prohibits discrimination on the grounds of ancestry, sex, race, language, country of origin, religion, political or ideological convictions, education, economic situation, social condition or sexual orientation. Article 15, on Aliens and Stateless Persons, states that aliens and stateless persons staying or residing in Portugal enjoy the same rights and are subject to the same duties as Portuguese citizens, except for political rights, to the performance of public duties that are not predominantly technical, or to rights and duties restricted to Portuguese citizens under the Constituttion and by law.

Article 46 of the Portuguese Constitution, on Freedom of Association, states that citizens have the right to form associations freely and without requiring any authorization provided such associations are not intended to promote violence and their objectives are not contrary to the criminal law. Associations may pursue their objectives freely without interference by any public authority. They cannot be dissolved by the State and their activities may not be suspended except by judicial decision in the cases provided by law.

There is no evidence that persons belonging to minorities face legal obstacles in exercising or manifesting their religion or belief.

Qualitative Info

Article 13 of the Portuguese Constitution, on the Principle of Equality, prohibits discrimination on the grounds of ancestry, sex, race, language, country of origin, religion, political or ideological convictions, education, economic situation, social condition or sexual orientation. Article 41 on Freedom of Conscience, of Religion and of Form of Worship states that:

1. The freedom of conscience, of religion and of form of worship is inviolable.
2. No one may be persecuted, deprived of rights or exempted from civic obligations or duties because of his convictions or religious observance.
3. No authority may question anyone in relation to his convictions or religious observance, save in order to gather statistical data that cannot be individually identified, nor may anyone be prejudiced in any way for refusing to answer.
4. Churches and other religious communities are separate from the state and are free to organise themselves and to exercise their functions and form of worship.
5. The freedom to teach any religion within the ambit of the religious belief in question and to use the religion’s own media for the pursuit of its activities is guaranteed.
6. The right to be a conscientious objector, as laid down by law, is guaranteed.

The Comissão da Liberdade Religiosa (CLR) [Commission of Religious Freedom] was created in 2001 through the Law on Religious Freedom (Law no. 16/2001 of 22nd of June), which states the principle of freedom of conscience, religion and form of worship and the principle of equality and non-discrimination based on religion and belief.

Key socio-economic / Institutional Areas

The Observatório da Imigração (OI) [Immigration Observatory] promoted a study on the organisational dynamic of ethnic communication media in Portugal and on the ethnic communication media present in the country. The Plano para a Integração de Imigrantes [Plan for Immigrant Integration] adopts several measures concerning the media area of intervention, including promoting cultural and religious diversity in the media.

Qualitative Info

The study Ethnic communication media in Portugal, developed by Isabel Câmara Salim under the Observatório da Imigração (OI) [Immigration Observatory], seeks to understand the organisational dynamic of ethnic communication media in Portugal, their functions and which positive contributions they offer for the immigrant communities. The study refers the importance of ethnic media as a source of approximation for the immigrant community, the role of information as a form of integration, the role of migrant media as a means of relationship with the country and culture of origin and also as a means of demanding rights.

The I Plano para a Integração de Imigrantes (PII, 2007-2009) [I Plan for Immigrant Integration] and the II Plano para a Integração de Imigrantes (PII, 2010-2013) [II Plan for Immigrant Integration] adopted several measures accross various policy areas, including media.

For the I Plan for Immigrant Integration (2007-2009) the "Media" area of intervention included the measures (pp. 33-34):

- To encourage the development of self regulatory mechanisms in the media, based upon ethical practice and professional deontology: development of self regulatory mechanisms that cover the domain of news about immigration by way of countering the perverse effects of inciting racism and xenophobia which the media can generate; appeal for the application of a standard rule that people are not to be identiﬁed neither by nationality nor by ethnic origin except when it is needed to explain news content;
- Nurturing cultural diversity in the media: stimulate the media to programming/information that demonstrates the existence of cultural diversity in Portuguese society, placing importance upon the cultural and linguistic expression in the resident migrant communities in Portugal.

For the II Plan for Immigrant Integration covering the period 2010-2013 the "Promotion of Diversity and Intercultural Dialogue" area of intervention includes two measures concernig media (pp. 38-39):

- Incentives for the development of self-regulation mechanisms in the media, structured around codes of professional ethics: providing incentives for the development of self-regulation mechanisms for
media coverage of immigration issues, with the objective of countering the perverse effects which the xenophobia induced by certain manners of presenting news can generate in public opinion; distributing relevant documentation produced by international organizations (the European Union, Council of Europe and UNESCO) among the principal epresentatives of the media sector;
- Promoting cultural and religious diversity in the media: urge the media to dedicate air time to programmes and information which examine the cultural and religious diversity of Portuguese society, projecting a positive image of the cultural and linguistic expression of immigrant cultures with communities in Portugal; develop information and training initiatives on intercultural dialogue, immigration and diversity with media professionals.

Key socio-economic / Institutional Areas

The Plano para a Integração de Imigrantes [Plan for Immigrant Integration] adopts several measures concerning the media area of intervention, including promoting cultural and religious diversity in the media and stimulating the media to programming/information that demonstrates the cultural and linguistic expression in the resident migrant communities in Portugal.

Qualitative Info

According to the Contribution from Portugal to the Annnual Report of the Fundamental Rights Agency of the European Union 2009 there are media in other languages in Portugal, nammelly in Russian, and there is no report or complaint so far against any hindrance to their publication. Also, the report states that there is no evidence that public service broadcasting provides informational, educational, cultural and entertainment programming in any minority language. But there is also no evidence that the use of any specific language is prohibited in public broadcasting or in the media in general.

The I Plano para a Integração de Imigrantes (PII, 2007-2009) [I Plan for Immigrant Integration] and the II Plano para a Integração de Imigrantes (PII, 2010-2013) [II Plan for Immigrant Integration] adopted several measures accross various policy areas, including media.

For the I Plan for Immigrant Integration (2007-2009) the "Media" area of intervention included the measures (pp. 33-34):

- To encourage the development of self regulatory mechanisms in the media, based upon ethical practice and professional deontology: development of self regulatory mechanisms that cover the domain of news about immigration by way of countering the perverse effects of inciting racism and xenophobia which the media can generate; appeal for the application of a standard rule that people are not to be identiﬁed neither by nationality nor by ethnic origin except when it is needed to explain news content;
- Nurturing cultural diversity in the media: stimulate the media to programming/information that demonstrates the existence of cultural diversity in Portuguese society, placing importance upon the cultural and linguistic expression in the resident migrant communities in Portugal.

For the II Plan for Immigrant Integration covering the period 2010-2013 the "Promotion of Diversity and Intercultural Dialogue" area of intervention includes two measures concernig media (pp. 38-39):

- Incentives for the development of self-regulation mechanisms in the media, structured around codes of professional ethics: providing incentives for the development of self-regulation mechanisms for
media coverage of immigration issues, with the objective of countering the perverse effects which the xenophobia induced by certain manners of presenting news can generate in public opinion; distributing relevant documentation produced by international organizations (the European Union, Council of Europe and UNESCO) among the principal epresentatives of the media sector;
- Promoting cultural and religious diversity in the media: urge the media to dedicate air time to programmes and information which examine the cultural and religious diversity of Portuguese society, projecting a positive image of the cultural and linguistic expression of immigrant cultures with communities in Portugal; develop information and training initiatives on intercultural dialogue, immigration and diversity with media professionals.

Key socio-economic / Institutional Areas

There is a scarce visibility of media professionals belonging to migrant and ethnic minority groups in the mainstream media.

Qualitative Info

There are no known incentives to increase the participation of persons belonging to minorities in the media, except for the media programmes produced by the Alto Comissariado para a Imigração e Diálogo Intercultural (ACIDI) [High Commission for Immigration and Intercultural Dialogue]: the television programme "Nós" [Us] and the radio programme "Gente como Nós" [People like us].

The Council of Europe campaign "Speak Out Against Discrimination" was launched in Lisbon on the 9th of June 2009, in the presence of the High Commissioner for Immigration and Intercultural Dialogue, with the objective of raising the awareness of public opinion against discrimination, specially anti-semitism, islamophobia and anti-Roma feelings. It also aims to enhance the visibility of the cultural diversity by supporting the access of minority groups to professional careers in the media.

Type (R/D)

Key socio-economic / Institutional Areas

There are no important legal restrictions preventing migrants to effectively participate in sport. At professional level and in some sports there may be some limitations in the total number of foreigners per team.

Qualitative Info

In some cases like in football, handball and basketball professional leagues some limitations exist as to the number of foreign (third countries) allowed to participate in national competitions.